Californian couple celebrate 75th wedding anniversary

In these sad days of horrific news stories, I was delighted to hear of an elderly couple in California celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary this week.
Anne and John Whitman married on June 13 1942 at the height of World War Two. They are now 95 and 102 years old respectively.
The couple first met at a Halloween party in Manhattan the previous year, just five weeks before the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbour propelled the United States into war. Anne recalls that she was not impressed and left the party early, saying John and his female friend were “so arrogant” and she was bored. But John was undeterred, claiming he knew the moment he met her that he wanted to marry Ann.
He wrote her letter asking her on a date and she reluctantly agreed. They enjoyed trips to the theater and local restaurants during their courtship.
Anne told The Signal:
“We found that we were compatible. We used to go out a lot.”
A lifetime later the couple have five children, seven grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.
Anne enjoys her role as the matriarch of her growing clan. She told the site:
“It’s great to have family. The secret of a good life is family.”
Neither are New York natives. Instead they come from neighboring states of New Jersey (Anne) and Pennsylvania (John). Later in their marriage the steadfast couple decided to leave the Big Apple and move to Las Vegas in pursuit of a drier climate, before continuing west and settling in California. They have lived in Santa Clarita near Los Angeles since 1965.
Their oldest child, Gerald, believes his parents’ marriage has lasted so long because they have a relaxed approach to life and a willingness to forgive.
“They have had a really successful marriage and I attribute that to the fact that they don’t take each other really seriously. The thing is, they never go to bed angry. They always made up and they were always happy the next day.”
The elderly couple are also noted amongst their family for a lively sense of humour and a willingness to joke with each other even in their twilight years.
Both have remained as physically active as they can. John continued to enjoy bowling until the age of 98 and did not stop driving until he turned 101!
Congratulations both!